Optical switches are used in a variety of applications. Some applications, such as signal routing in a multistage interconnection network, do not require high-speed switching. Other applications do; for example, fault management wherein the switches are used to reconfigure fiber networks by bypassing faulty components or nodes.
For lower-speed switching applications, bulk optomechanical switches utilizing mechanically-translated lensed fibers may be used. Optomechanical switches are desirable for such applications because, in addition to meeting the relatively slow switching-speed requirement, they are relatively inexpensive and insensitive to input signal polarization and wavelength.
Due to a relatively slow response time, which may be on the order of tens of milliseconds or more, such optomechanical switches are unsuitable for use in other applications requiring relatively high speed switching. For such higher speed switching applications, lithium niobate waveguide modulators are often used. While such modulators possess the requisite speed, they suffer from several drawbacks. Such drawbacks include a high unit cost and sensitivity to input signal polarization and wavelength.
It would be desirable to have a switch suitable for a wider range of applications than the aforementioned prior art switches. Such a switch would possess the beneficial properties of conventional optomechanical switches, but have a response speed several orders of magnitude faster.